


Chasing Ghosts

by Blondie2000



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Supernatural
Genre: Action, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Spencer Reid, Case Fic, Gen, Ghost Hunters, Ghosts, Humor, Hurt Aaron Hotchner, Hurt Spencer Reid, One Shot, POV Aaron Hotchner, POV Spencer Reid, Protective Aaron Hotchner, Serial Killers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28803405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blondie2000/pseuds/Blondie2000
Summary: The BAU are in town investigating a series of deaths. The civilians insist it's a ghost. A ghost? There's no such thing as ghosts. Right? Turns out they are not the only ones investigating this strange case.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & Spencer Reid, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 12
Kudos: 92





	Chasing Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> started watching Criminal Minds and I am hooked. I love all the characters but I would have to say my top 3 favs are Hotch, Reid and Garcia. I been tempted to write a crossover fic. This little idea popped up in my head.
> 
> I am only on season 3 for Criminal Minds so I apologize if the characters are OOC I am writing based on what I have seen so far on them and its my first attempt at writing Criminal Minds so *Swallows with nerves* lol.
> 
> So Criminal Minds set in the earlier seasons and SPN doesn't have an exact timeline I guess yeah early seasons when things were more simple lol.
> 
> Here we go. Enjoy

_Why are we in a graveyard at night?_

That question has replayed over and over in Dr Spencer Reid's mind from the time they left the station to when they arrived at their destination.

The BAU were called in after several cases of men and women aged 13 to 17 were found murdered in cold blood in their own homes. All victims' throats were slashed open and their clothes were ripped and torn. There was no signs of sexual assault however the range of bruises and cuts confirmed that the unsub has beaten the victims before going in for the kill. That itself could have been the unsub's way of sexual release.

The case took a weird turn when one of the civilians an middle-aged woman said they know who is doing this. When they asked who she said Frederick Sampson. Here's when it gets weird.

Frederick is dead.

The woman was certain it was him. 20 years ago 1987 there was a case that was exactly like this one. Teens found dead in their own homes. Throats slashed, clothes torn, tortured the only difference is the teens then were all raped this new case doesn't have anything sexual related.

Sampson was a suspect in the case but he never got charged as there was no evidence to tie him to the case. People didn't need the evidence to know it was him. The cops knew they had their guy but sadly justice was not on their side. Sampson's life came to a tragic end due to an accident. His car crashed into the tree and he died shortly after he was submitted to hospital. No one in the town grieved his death instead they celebrated. After doing research Reid had a feeling that there was more to that death than meets the eye. The way the police were eager to quickly close the case and move on suggests they didn't want anyone to look into it.

The team came to conclusion that it is a copycat and in terms of the sexual side of things the unsub can't get a hard on they are closed off from that department. Linking to Reid's theory maybe the unsub had the same suspicions and they wanted to continue Sampson's legacy go after the next generation of teenagers as a way to make the families pay for what they did. From the information Reid has gathered he was 98.5% sure Frederick was murdered.

The case got really weird when another attack happened and the victim managed to get away. 16-year-old Lola Martin was home alone when the unsub turned up luckily her parents came home early and they got their daughter out of the house.

When the BAU interviewed the family they said they saw the unsub's face. Before they could ask for a description Mrs Martin blurted out that the killer is Frederick Sampson. What made It crazier was when she said they were attacked by a ghost. A ghost!

There's no such thing as ghosts.

"I know what I saw." Mrs Martin sobbed. "I would never forget the face of the bastard who killed my Sister."

There was the link. The victims from the two cases are related. It made Reid more certain his theory is right.

"I swear on my life and on my Daughter's life that was Frederick. He was in my house. Lola was pinned to the bed he was standing over her!"

"After we got Lola out." Mr Martin continued. "I went back in the house and he...he was gone which is impossible because the back door and the windows were locked only way he would have got out is through the front. We were at the front we would have saw him."

The news spread round like wildfire. Almost everyone in the town believed Frederick Sampson was back from the dead. Agent Jareau did the press conference and revealed the profile but nobody would listen. The town's faith in the FBI started to decrease. Civilians thought they were doomed. Most of them turned to the Church for help. The Priests couldn't handle the stress they were being put under.

The BAU are not chasing ghosts. They are not the Ghostbusters. They are hunting down a killer who is alive. The team couldn't wait to catch the son of a bitch and get the Hell out of this town. If any of them hear the word ghost one more time Reid was sure someone in the team was going to lose it.

With the civilians being far from helpful the team decided to go with a different approach. Slip into the mind of the unsub.

That led them to the idea that the unsub would visit Sampson's grave.

Hotch volunteered to check the graveyard out. For back up. Reid was chosen. The young Agent was totally cool with it until Hotch said they were going now. Right now. When it was night and it was a full moon. It was really freaking creepy in this town at night. Being in a creepy graveyard in a creepy town at night with a serial killer running around sounded like a really bad horror cliché. Reid wanted no involvement in that.

"You know umm wouldn't it be better if Morgan went with you."

"Aww is this about the dark?" Morgan smirked. "You're scared."

"No...Yes...Sort of look I think we should wait until the morning it's getting late."

"Its half six Reid." Hotch said while looking at his watch.

"Oh."

"You don't think the g-g-ghost is gonna come and get you." Morgan teased.

Reid rolls his eyes.

"Shut up."

A glare from Hotchner caused Morgan to shut up.

"Hey maybe you might find a famous person buried there." JJ grinned. "You can tell Hotch all about it."

"I would rather if you didn't. Anyway Reid its good we look now and see if the unsub has left anything such as flowers or ornaments. It's important that we learn the unsub's relationship to Sampson. It could give us an idea on where to go next."

"Why not Sampson's house?"

The thought of investigating an old creepy house at night sounded even worse.

"We'll check that in the morning." Hotch nodded.

Reid stands up and puts on his jacket. He follows his Boss out of the station and into the car. Reid slides into the seat and makes himself comfortable.

"How far is it?" Reid asks.

"Not far." Hotch assured him.

That's how they ended up in the graveyard at night.

After they arrived and parked up. The question still went through Reid's mind as they stepped into the graveyard. Hotch already gave him an answer back at the station but the young Agent's mind was still screaming...

_Why?_

The graveyard was empty. Not a single soul to be seen. At that point Reid felt he and Hotch must have looked like right idiots. Hotch narrows his eyes and scans the surroundings. He then pulls out two flashlights and hands one to his colleague. Reid thanked him and quickly switches his on. The small bit of light comforted the young Agent at least he wasn't in complete darkness anymore.

The two men walk through and shine their flashlights on every grave they walk past. As Reid looks at the fourth grave his light goes out.

 _No_ _no_ _no no_ _!_

Reid taps the flashlight and gives it a shake. The flashlight remained dead.

"Uh Hotch. My flashlight stopped working."

"Take mine."

Hotch gives him his flashlight. He walks to the next grave and looks at Reid with a raised brow.

_Oh right._

Reid aims the flashlight at the grave. Hotch bends down and examines it. He looks up at the young Agent and shakes his head.

This is going to take a while.

Halfway through the graveyard Hotch raises his hand ordering Reid to stop. The young Agent obeys.

"We got company." The Unit Chief spoke his voice low.

Reid looks round. He heard voices two voices to be exact coming from the distance. A silent communication passed between the two Agents. They both get out their guns and follow the voices. They both pause when they see a man standing near a hole. The man is tall with long brown hair. He is looking down the hole and urging someone to hurry up. Another voice came from the hole.

"You want it done? Come down here and take over then bitch."

"Naa I'm good up here jerk." The tall man smiled.

"These two men are digging up a grave. Why? Do you think it's linked to the case?" Reid whispered.

"I guess we're about to find out." His Boss replied.

The older Agent stood tall showing of his authority. He walks down the hill towards the men.

"Excuse me." He gets his badge out of his pocket. "May I ask what are you doing out here?"

The tall man froze when his eyes go on the badge.

"FBI?"

"Agent Hotchner. This is Dr Spencer Reid."

The tall man frowns as he looks at the young Agent. His reaction didn't surprise Reid he is used to getting that reaction from people.

"Sam?" The other man yelled. "What's going on?"

Tall man Sam nervously looks at the Agents and the other man.

"The FBI are here."

"What?" His head pops out from the hole. This man had dark blonde hair and green eyes. He looks up at the Agents and smiles at them. "Evening Agents what brings you out here?"

"Hotch." Reid angled his flashlight towards the grave. "It's Sampson's grave."

"Why are you digging up Frederick Sampson's grave?" Hotch asks.

"It's...It's not what it looks like." Sam says. He then sighs. "I mean it is what it looks like but you see we have to do this because if we don't innocent lives are going to die."

" How does this save lives?"

"No time to explain." The other man climbs out of the hole and stands up. He brushes the dirt of his jeans and turns to Sam. "Okay I got it open we just need to burn the bones and hopefully that will destroy the son of a bitch."

" Burn the bones? " Reid frowned.

"If you can't explain it now." Hotch's hand goes on his pocket where the cuffs are. "Then we can take this back to the station. You can explain it to us there."

"Please." Sam said with a pleading tone. "You can't arrest us. Not while he is out there. We need to stop them."

"Who's out there?"

The two men look at each other. The shorter man then replied.

"Frederick Sampson."

Hotch sighs heavily.

"You believe it as well."

"I know it sounds crazy." Sam says. "But it's true. Frederick is back and he is pissed. He is going after the families who were responsible for his death."

"You believe he was murdered?" Reid asks.

Sam nods.

"Yeah."

Reid couldn't help but grin. When Hotch looked his way Reid quickly became straight-faced.

"How do you plan on stopping him?" Hotch asks.

"Burn his bones." The shorter man answered. "That's what is keeping him tied here. Once we do that he will move on into the afterlife. Case solved."

"Case solved huh. Well I hate to break it to you but there is no ghost. There is a killer out there. It's not Sampson."

"I hate to break it to you Agent but it is a ghost and it is Sampson. He is gonna strike again. So I suggest you leave us the Hell alone so we can finish this once and for all."

"Dean." Sam hissed.

"No Sam. This bastard needs to be stopped you know what he has done. He has killed innocent people. They were freaking kids. Kids!"

Reid had a feeling these two are not the serial killers. The older man Dean looked clearly disgusted by Sampson's crimes. What Reid didn't understand is why burn the bones?

 _Unless with Sampson's bones being here in their eyes his presence is still in this town he has never left that could explain_ _the whole_ _concept of the ghost. Sampson is like a ghost. What he did it does haunt the people in this town everyday. By burning the bones they might feel his 'spirit ' will vanish and everyone can finally move on._

Eager to share his thoughts Reid goes to address his Boss. When he opens his mouth cold smoke comes out. Reid frowns. His confusion increased when the temperature abruptly drops and it suddenly became freezing cold which was odd for a warm Summer's night.

"He's here." Dean grabs something from the ground. "Sam hold him off."

He throws the object into the taller man's arms. Sam catches it and raises it in the air. Both Agents went into action when they saw it was a shot-gun.

"Put the weapon on the ground!" Hotch yelled.

"You guys need to get out of here. Now!" Sam said his tone desperate.

"This is not a game. You need to put the gun down and put your hands where I can see them. Same goes to you." Hotch nods to Dean as he said it.

Reid's eyes suddenly bug out when he sees a dark, black shadow appear behind the older Agent.

"Hotch!" Reid squeaked. "Behind you!"

Hotchner frowns and looks behind him. Suddenly a hand shoots out and wraps its fingers around the older Agent's throat. Hotch gasps as he is lifted up into the air. He quickly places his hands on the attacker's and tries to push them away. Hotch grits his teeth and looks up. The Agent froze when his eyes meet the attacker's. The color drains from his face. His lips parted in shock.

"No."

"Hotch!" Reid yells.

The younger Agent aims at his target and goes to shoot.

"Don't shoot!" Sam yells.

He then raises his shot-gun and shoots at the attacker. The attacker vanishes and Hotch falls on the ground. Reid runs or more like dives to Hotch's side.

"Sir."

Reid winced when he saw the red ring around the other Agent's neck. That is going to form a nasty bruise later.

"You believe us now." Dean says.

"Huh?" Reid looks round. "Who was that?"

"It was Sampson."

"What?"

"Impossible." Hotch mumbled.

Reid looks back down at his Boss. Hotch's eyes are wide and his face is pale. From all the years Reid has known Hotch he has never seen him look like that. He looked like he has seen a ghost.

"There must be an explanation." Hotch muttered to himself.

Reid goes to help him up but the older Agent declines and stands up. Hotch takes a shaky breath and then slips back on his mask. His calm demeanour immediately returned.

"You have a third person working for you? The copycat?"

"We are not working with anyone. You saw his face." Dean says. "You know what Sampson looks like. I saw your reaction deep down you knew it was him."

"I was..."

"You're in denial. We get it." Sam says. "It is hard to accept." He looks at the younger Agent. "You saw me shoot him, he vanished right?"

Reid's lips press into a thin line. The idea that it's a hologram appeared in his head. Then holograms can't physically hurt people. Copycat was the other option but how could someone vanish like that? It wasn't like those disappearing acts from a magic show also the person was shot Sam didn't miss so the attacker should be on the floor now.

Reid felt a headache coming on due to all these questions he couldn't solve. Not even a man with a high IQ like him can solve this complex puzzle.

The young Agent lowers his head in defeat. For Reid to not know the answer it did worry the older Agent.

Dean pats his pockets and frowns.

"Sam? Where's my lighter?"

Laughter echoes across the graveyard. All the men look round trying to find where the sound was coming. The laughter increased and this time it came from all around. A figure appears next to Sam. It raises its arm and sends Sam flying through the air. Sam crashes into the tree and tumbles on to the ground.

"Hey!"

Dean raises the shot-gun. The attacker waves its arm. The shot-gun flies out of Dean's hands and the young man receives a swift punch to the gut followed by a punch to the jaw. The attacker throws out its arms sending Dean head first into a headstone knocking him out cold.

The person chuckles and turns round. Reid's eyes widen when he recognizes the face.

"Sampson!"

Frederick Sampson smirks.

"In the flesh...sort of." He eyes both Agents up and down. "So is this the part where I put my hands up in the air where you can see them." He laughs. "Who would have thought the FBI chasing ghosts I gotta say that's a new one."

Reid glances at his colleague. Hotch stared at Sampson with a look of disbelief. Frederick takes a step forward. Hotch shoots and bullet flies towards the killer. The bullet hits the chest. To everyone's surprise the bullet goes through leaving a small hole. Grey smoke swirls round the hole. Seconds later the hole vanishes.

Reid gaped while Hotch struggled to keep himself together. On the outside he looked calm but on the inside he is freaking out. Despite his inner turmoil Hotch refused to break. He is the Unit Chief he is the one in charge. His team depend on him.

Hotch has been in crazy situations all his life. What he learnt is to push the emotions to the side and focus on the mission. With Reid already panicking someone needed to be strong for the team.

_It's a case. It's a case. Approach this like any other case._

That's what Hotch did. He begun to form a profile in his head.

 _Face is the same from the photos. No signs of ageing. Skin is grey, dark shadows under the eyes and the clothes_ _are ripped_ _and burned possibly from the car accident._

He places his hand where Sampson strangled him.

_He's strong. Not natural strength. Sampson's enhance abilities and his frail appearance is all part of the ghost package._

A ghost. Hotch couldn't believe he is going along with it. At this moment in time it seemed to be the only logical explanation. The Agent shook himself out of his thoughts he couldn't dwell on this now he needed to distract Sampson.

Hotch mentally counted to ten before lowering his gun.

"Alright Sampson you win. We believe you. Ghosts are real."

Sampson grins and flickers erratically. Hotch's face is blank. He didn't dare show any fear. Last thing he needed is the ghost feeding on their weakness.

"You left quite a mark on this town. What you did to those people all them years ago. Twenty years later you continue where you left off. Why? Why wait all these years?"

"I like them young." Sampson answered. His eyes roam Reid over. "You would have made a good candidate. Sadly you are a little bit above my preferred age range."

"I'm glad." Reid nods. "Very glad."

"You are targeting the victim's families. It's revenge." Hotch says.

"Because they were the ones responsible for your death." Reid added.

"You boys are good. It was no accident. You see they did have me in custody. No evidence to charge me. I covered my tracks. They knew it was me and it killed them when they had to let me go their faces when I left the station as a free man." He chuckled. " I wish I took a photo. One day I was driving my car and...CRASH! The son of a bitch rammed his car into mine. My car flipped down the hill and crashed into a tree. As I was sitting there bleeding out, I saw them all of them the whole freaking town all lined up along the road. That's when I knew they decided to take it into their own hands. Before I died I swore I will come back and make them pay for what they did. "

"You waited all those years knowing they would have children." Hotch said with realization. "You waited for their children to reach the right age then you killed them."

"That's right. It was worth it. My work is not finished. Lola survived and there a few others that I been meaning to visit."

"I can't let you do that."

"What are you gonna do? Huh? Run back to your buddies and tell them my confession." He snorted. "Do you think they are going to believe a ghost is doing all these crimes. They will think you're crazy. Then you know this case does need to be solved someone needs to be arrested for all these murders. I did originally plan to kill all of you but actually I will keep one of you alive and frame you for all the murders including the ones that are about to take place now. Who will be the lucky survivor?" He shrugs. "I guess we're about to find out."

Reid spots the lighter not far from where he is standing. He looks between Hotchner and Sampson who were in some sort of a stand-off. The ghost received the famous Hotch glare. Reid would have laughed if they were not in a life and death situation.

The young Agent turns his attention back to the lighter. He then takes a deep breath.

_Here goes nothing._

Then he runs.

Sampson's head whips round and he raises his hand. Reid froze. He tried to move but his feet remained planted to the ground. He heard Hotch calling out his name but Reid couldn't focus on him he couldn't focus on anything all he can hear now is his own heart banging against his chest. Reid cried out when Sampson appears in front of him.

"That was a very stupid move." The ghost tuts and shakes his head. "What did you think you were going to achieve?"

"Leave him alone." Hotch growled.

"I will. I will leave him alone...after I killed him."

"Yeah that's not going to happen."

Sampson looks down and sees the young Agent grinning at him. The ghost raises his eyebrow.

"What makes you so sure kiddo?"

Reid smiles wide.

"Cuz you see I knew you were gonna come after me I was expecting this. If my calculations are correct they should be waking up now."

"Huh?"

Before Sampson could process what he said he suddenly vanishes up in smoke. Reid stumbles forward and falls on the ground.

"You know that was a really stupid move kid."

Reid looks up and sees Dean standing up with the shot-gun in his arms. Reid smiles at him.

"But it worked right. You got him."

A shadow looms over the young Agent. Reid didn't need to look to know it's Hotch. Hotchner leans forward and Reid winced when he got the famous glare.

 _Hotch_ _is gonna kill me._

Hotch reaches out with his hand. Reid accepts and grabs on to his hand. Hotch pulls him up and gives him a stern look.

" We will talk about this later. "

Reid nods and smiles sheepishly.

"Yes Sir."

Hotch's face then softened.

"You okay?"

"Considering I nearly got killed by a ghost I'm actually okay." He sees Dean helping Sam up. Dean checks him over and claps him on the back before returning to the Agents. "Hey umm how come our guns don't work but yours do?"

"Rock salt." Dean nodded. "Salt harms them."

"And iron." Sam grabs two iron rods and hands them to the Agents. "Hit them and they will vanish."

Hotch grips the rod and goes in a defensive stance. It amazed Reid how only minutes ago both of them were skeptics and now here they are fighting a dead serial killer.

_Just another day on the job._

"Cover me." Sam gets out a tub of salt. An outline of a figure started to take form. Sam looks at the others and waves at them. "Now!"

"Here."

Reid scoops the lighter up and throws it. Sam catches it and nods his thanks. Sam turns and makes a bee-line for Sampson's grave.

Sampson opens his eyes and glares at them.

"Hey asshole."

Dean shoots and hits the ghost making him vanish.

Sam opens the tub and begins pouring the salt in. Sampson appears and grabs Sam by his jacket. Hotch comes from the back and swings the rod through Sampson's body making him vanish once again.

"Okay okay." Sam gets out the lighter and goes to flick it on. He let out a grunt when the lighter refused to come on. "Not now not now."

Sampson appears and screams with fury. Dean shuts him up with another shot.

"Sam we can't hold him off much longer!"

Sampson comes back and he sends Reid across the graveyard. Hotch raises the rod but Sampson is quicker. The ghost punches the older Agent and shoves him into the bushes. Dean aims the shot-gun. He then cursed when he realized he is out of ammo. Sampson flies and lifts Dean off the ground. Dean grits his teeth as Sampson's fingers burn his skin.

"I'm gonna enjoy this." The ghost grinned.

Sam tries the lighter again and this time the flame appears. Sam throws the lighter in. As soon as the fire made contact with the bones it immediately burst into flames.

Sampson drops Dean and stumbles back in shock. The ghost let out a cry as the fire rises up and consumes him whole. Then the flames disappear and Sampson was gone.

Dean coughs and stands up. Hotch comes out looking slightly dazed. He then shakes his head and looks round.

"Is he gone?" He asks.

"Yeah." Dean nods. "He's gone."

Hotch sighs with relief. Sam helps Reid up and they both make their way to join the others.

"You guys were pretty cool out there." Sam smiled.

"Uh thank you." Reid smiled.

"So does that mean we're not getting arrested?" Dean says.

"You do this all the time?" Hotch asks.

"Its our job."

"So what you are like the real life Ghostbusters?" Reid says.

"Not really." Sam replied. "You see me and my brother we hunt these things. The supernatural is real. Demons, ghosts, vampires, werewolves you name it its real."

"What!" Reid goes eye-wide. "It's all real?"

"All real." Dean says.

Hotch stayed quiet as he tried to process this new information. Every day he hunted monsters and saved lives now knowing there is actual monsters out there he didn't know what to do. What if they ran into another case like this again? Has any unsolved cases in the past been supernatural related that's why they couldn't solve it? How is he going to protect his team when he can't even protect himself?

Reading his thoughts Dean pulls out a card.

"Hey if you ever have any cases that are strange or unusual don't hesitate to give us a call. We'll be happy to help."

Hotch takes the card and puts it in his top pocket. He then nods to the brothers.

"Thank you."

"Well Sammy." Dean places his hand on his brother's shoulder. "That's our cue to go."

After the Agents and the Hunters parted ways Hotch and Reid returned to the station. The team immediately bombarded them with questions as soon as they saw Hotch's neck. Hotch shut them down and said they were leaving first thing in the morning. They were about to protest but the Unit Chief dismissed them. Hotch didn't want to argue he said the case can't be solved and they must never talk about it again.

When they arrived back at headquarters Hotch stayed in his office. The team were worried about their Boss. His abrupt change in behavior made no sense to them. One thing they all knew was whatever happened it was linked to that night.

They tried to get answers out of Reid but the young Agent wouldn't talk. He answered with the same response.

"I'm sorry but it's not my place to say."

"Reid you were there that night." Morgan sits in the chair and leans forward. He clasps his hands on his lap and raises his eyebrow. "You both came back you both looked like Hell and you shrugged it off like it was no big deal."

"I..."

Reid covers his mouth to stop himself from talking. He quickly grabs his mug and sips his coffee. Morgan wasn't stupid. He knew his colleague was distracting himself so he didn't have to talk.

"I have never seen Hotch like this. He wouldn't just up and leave without a very good reason."

"I'm sure he will tell you when he's ready." Reid then sighs. "Morgan I'm sorry. I can't tell you without his approval. If he doesn't want us to talk about it then we don't talk about it."

"I know." Morgan nods with understanding. "It's just frustrating you know I wanna know what happened. I don't like being kept out of the loop."

" I get it I really do. All I'm saying is maybe just be patient with him at the moment. Okay? "

"Yeah sure." Morgan leans back in his seat. "Hey according to JJ there hasn't been any new victims. The killings, it's all stopped."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Weird right? Since that night it's just stopped. Quite a coincidence I say."

"Morgan." Reid shakes his head. "Please."

"I know I know." Morgan stands up. "You're not gonna talk. You know one of these days I am going to find out right?"

Reid forced a smile as the other Agent claps him on the back and walks off. Reid drops his head on the table and groans. He couldn't keep going on like this. He needed to talk to Hotch.

_I will see him after work._

Reid nods to himself. Yeah that's what he is going to do. As soon as the others leave he is going straight into that office and he is will sort this out with Hotch once and for all.

 _I'm sure he_ _has got_ _over the shock._

When his shift came to an end Reid had his bag packed and his files stacked on the side. He waves the team goodbye and goes to the office. He knocks on the door and waits for a response.

_"Come in."_

Reid opens the door.

Hotch looks up from his work.

"Reid?"

"Sir. I need to talk to you."

Hotch nods.

"Okay."

Reid closes the door and sits down. His Boss did not look good. Hotch had bags under his eyes Reid guessed he must have not slept for days. His shoulders are hunched which shows he is tense. At this moment Reid saw Hotch as a dam that had cracks coming through and one of these days it is going to break. Aaron Hotchner is strong. Even the strongest ones can break.

"Sir we need to tell them about that night."

"Reid..."

"They won't stop asking me questions. Sir you know they are not going to leave it alone they will keep digging until they get an answer. I mean that is basically our job."

"What do we tell them exactly? That the unsub was a dead serial killer and ghosts are real. They will think we're crazy."

"We both saw it. It doesn't sound as crazy if it's coming from both of us."

Hotchner looks down at his desk. Reid leans forward with concern.

"We haven't really talked about it. That night. I know once a case is done we move on..." He laughs a little. "It's not every day I go out ghost hunting with my Boss."

"How did you accept it?"

Reid frowns.

"Excuse me?"

"You just found out the supernatural is real. You are carrying on like it never happened. How?"

"Umm I wouldn't say that. I been salting my windows and doors before I go to bed. I read it keeps the ghosts out. I recently been looking into demons. If you ever find sulphur or you smell rotten eggs it's a demon. Holy water hurts them. The Exorcist got that right. So..."

"Stop just stop."

Reid goes quiet while Hotch rakes a hand down his face and sighs heavily.

"You been researching all this?"

"I guess that's my way of coping with it. I like to know the facts." He shrugged. "Judging from the lack of sleep you haven't taken the news very well."

"I don't know." Hotch admitted his voice quiet. "Honestly I don't want to tell the others because I don't want them to have this burden."

"Burden?"

"I mean look at you look what the truth has done to you. No offense Reid."

"It's okay. I guess buying five tubs of salt is actually not normal."

Hotch decided to not comment on that. He touches his neck where the bruise has formed. Flashes of that night go across his mind. Hotch closes his eyes tight and shoves the image out of his head.

"Me." Hotch opens his eyes and looks at the other Agent. "I'm always going to worry about what the next case will be. Whether it will be human or...not human. What do I do when it's the other option."

"Sam and Dean gave us their number."

"I don't want to call them."

"Why?"

"I hope to never run into something like that again. What would happen if the team are out on a case and it turned out to be a monster. I can't save them because I don't know what to do. Humans I get monsters is a different thing all together."

"This is why they gave us their number . Hotch we're not alone in this. There is help out there don't feel like you have to fight this on your own."

"It's my job to protect my team."

"Sometimes you got to drop the leader act and allow yourself to be human once in a while." Hotch's eyes widen with surprise. Reid didn't back down. He stands up and gives his Boss another concerned look."You gotta let us in otherwise you are not gonna get through this. This will only cause an increase in anxiety, paranoia, fear possibly insomnia."

"Reid." Hotch stands up and folds his arms. "Go home."

Reid quickly checks for any signs that suggests his Boss is pissed off. Instead a small rare smile forms on the older Agent's face. Reid smiles back.

"See you tomorrow Sir."

Reid goes to the door.

"Reid."

"Yes Sir?"

"About the others. I don't want to tell them. Not yet anyway. I don't want to take away their innocence."

"Innocence? I think we lost that ages ago."

"Yes I know they have been exposed to the horrors of this world." Hotch rolls his eyes. "What I mean is..."

Realization dawns on the younger Agent.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Hotch nods. "Like I said I don't want them to have this burden. It bothers me that you know Reid. You have experienced so much from such a young age."

"It's not your fault and seriously don't worry about me I'm fine. Sir I get that you want the others to have some sort of normality but you know this is something you can't keep from them forever one of these days you are going to have to tell them."

"We'll worry about it when the time comes."

Reid nods and looks away. He turns the handle and opens the door. He goes through and closes the door behind him.

Hotch opens the drawers and looks through the papers. He picks up a card the brothers gave him. He looks at the number for several seconds before throwing it back in and slamming the drawers shut.

Hotch had nothing against the brothers. He didn't hate them but he hoped that will be the last time he sees them. The BAU has been through many cases none of them were supernatural related. The Sampson case was probably a one-off. Surely it is not going to happen again...

...Right?

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> That is the end. I'm sorry there wasn't much of the team in this story. I am debating whether to do a sequel or not. I do have some ideas that includes the team finding out the supernatural is real. Imagine Hotch's face if he saw the Winchesters again ha ha lol. At least we know Reid would be prepared ) lol.
> 
> Take care and stay safe.
> 
> Blondie xx


End file.
